milton glasser: i love new york

When I think about the design of icons "logos"... BRANDS!!! I can't help but think about the bigness of it all. Well at least I think its big.

I-love-new-york

You cant think about logo or brand design without thinking about Milton Glasser...

Glasser-052909

... one of the most celebrated Graphic Designers of our time. In this video, where he talks about the design of the "I Love New York" (I {heart} NY) icon, what you should QUICKLY see is the THINKING behind the creation ...

terry graham: doing the best with what you have

Today, I was doing what I normally do at WFXL FOX31, minding my own business, getting things done. Terry Graham, the Executive News Director walks into my office (which I call the "Zen Garden") and says... "Vince... Sometimes you have to just do the best with what you have to work with..." NOW if you knew Terry Graham, who has an incredible brand in the news industry, you would know that Terry is no less than a Perfectionist. Terry is that type of guy, that when you get around him, you just HAVE to do better (or look insanely stupid). Terry is what I like to call... 

Driven. 

Terry is extremely passionate about his work, and he IS the details. When I first started my adventure at WFXL FOX31 as the Interactive Managing Editor (they hired me for my thinking... DEFINITELY not my writing) I had to go head to head with Terry. I THOUGHT I was a Perfectionist until I met him. Everyday, Terry would push the envelope with me, challenging me to do more, be more, contribute more. I thank Terry for the "pushing" to this day. AND though I knew (and I believe I still know) a LITTLE more than Terry about the online audience - he bought a senior level News Director perspective to what it is that I do... Well here in the last 4 months, Terry has been charged with the responsibility of designing, and birthing a three hour morning show at WFXL FOX31, and we are closing in on a launch date.  

That was the "backdrop" 

Back to the reason for this post... The quote that Terry dropped on me and the story that followed... 

Chan-yan-tak460

Terry says... "Vince... Sometimes you have to just do the best with what you have to work with..." THEN he goes on to tell me this story about a point in his career where he had to "get lost" in order to "find himself..." and he talked about a chinese restaurant that he would visit on a regular basis in Los Angeles. THIS IS where this get's interesting... He tells the story of the restaurant and how awesome it was. He talked about going to the restaurant at least 5 times a week and really enjoying the food... He used the word... 

Immaculate. 

He then goes on to detail a day, where he went to the restaurant as he always had, and something was just not right... He said that the environment had a "hint of chaos" mixed in and this was very abnormal. He shared with me, that when his food was FINALLY bought out to him it was cold, and absolutely not like it had been all the times prior to this occasion. While he told the story I could see the frustration in his eyes. AND he said... Catch this, because THIS is the real power of this story... When he asked the Owner, what the deal was, the Owner looked at him squarely in the eye and said.... 

"Sorry about that..." 

Terry (even while he is telling me this story) was surprised by the response. Shocked even. However; upon getting the answer - he did not stop there... He asked the Owner again.. "What IS the deal with this food today..." The Owner look at him squarely in the eye and said... 

"Sorry about that..." 

Well.. NOT to drag this out, because I need you to get the "nugget" of wisdom that I got from this... 

Terry goes on to describe how he came BACK to the restaurant, some days later, and how he talked to a waiter who was serving him about the experience, and the waiter informed him that on THAT day, the Owner and his wife were the only ones working... They were short staffed. SO in an essence, they were doing the best with what they had to work with. 

Take this with you... 

If at the end of the day, you can look yourself in the eye, and stand on the idea that you did all that you could to DESIGN BIG, INNOVATE MORE, and REALLY... I MEAN REALLY make a DIFFERENCE, then you should shut down the workstation and GO HOME. If you look yourself in the eye, and you KNOW you could have PUSHED HARDER, been a better INNOVATION ACTIVIST, then on the next day... RAISE THE BAR!! Period. 

If you have limited resources... Do the best with what you have. The ABSOLUTE best.

landis frier: what passion looks like

It's Friday, and typically I would be on Twitter ( http://twitter.com/vincenthunt ) "tweeting" away, finding new people to follow, and learning all I can from the "public voice". Today is different.

From time to time you have the opportunity to meet those people who are so creative, and so talented that when they are in your space, they consume you. From time to time you meet those people who God Himself, has looked down on, and blessed them with something so powerful, and so blessed, that the only thing you can call it is "Soulful Excellence".

Introducing: Landis Frier

Landis

This post is special for me, because I can remember just 3 years ago, bumping into this guy when out on the town, or just passing by in the local mall. And vividly I can remember saying to myself... "There is something very special, very unique about this guy." The son of a good friend of mine, Leslie Hanks, Landis Frier has always been up to some level of mischief, and discord. However; behind all of the symptoms of "growing up", I could sense something so big and so amazing, that at times I would be overwhelmed in his midst. I never knew what this "thing" was, until now...

Landis decided just two short years ago to pursue his passion. I am not 100% sure of what made Landis do it, BUT he DID. Landis picked up a guitar, released what God put in him, and the result is one BAD ASS Country Singer. 

NOW, do not be fooled... Landis is 23 years old, so what he brings to the table is a heightened "sense of things". From time to time I hear "Us" (adults) saying.... "This generation is over exposed..." I can agree to some extent, BUT when you hear Landis sing, something soulful happens. He has somehow found a way to take his experiences in life at a young 23, and turn them into "soul ointment". His sound is rich, his gift is amazing and he is definitely one you want to keep your eye on ... 

http://reverbnation.com/landisfrier

ted: jamie heywood: the big idea my brother inspired

As I often do, I was browsing through TED (http://ted.com) and I stumbled across a video that caught my attention: "Jamie Heywood: The Idea My Brother Inspired". After watching the video, I too was inspired. NOT in the same way that Jamie was inspired, because of course, I did not have the same experience that Jamie had, however; when I think about truly soulful innovation, I could not help but think about the passion that fueled the birth of Jamie's idea.

While watching this video, you should instantly start to get a sense, that soulful innovation, the kind that really transforms how we view and interact with the world around us is born from somewhere deeper than just "a good idea" - BUT you should quickly start to see that soulful innovation is birthed from "human-centered ideas".

http://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_heywood_the_big_idea_my_brother_inspired.html

I would recommend that you also visit this project online

Patient

http://patientslikeme.com

jeff martin: photography: mexico part 2

Heritage

Incredible photography project by Jeff Martin ... 

Project: Photography
Photographer: Jeff Martin
Complete Project: http://tr.im/mexico2

Heritage2

See part 1 of this project here... http://mexico1

fontfabric: typefaces for ywft

Font_frabic

Some of the most amazing font's I have seen in a while!! Incredible work by Fontfrabic - 

Project: Typefaces for YWFT
Designer: Fontfrabic

the early bird catches the worm. yeah but....

Birds

As I was growing up, my parents (mainly my mom) would always tell me...

"Vincent Allen (my mom would call me by my first AND middle name when making a point...), the early bird catches the worm..." I believed her. Until now...

Since day ONE of me getting involved with Social Networks, I have had the same question come up over and over. That question is...

"Vince, how do you get people to follow you?" 

Well the answer to that is easy... "Say something of relevance. Feed peoples mind, their soul, and something magical happens ..." People follow you, friend you, whatever the case, based on your substance... In most cases. However; I cant help but hear the "question BEHIND the question..."

"How do you get a LOT of people to follow you..."

LOL!! This is the real question they have. I THINK. And to be honest, the fact is, I have never really worried about how many people follow me, or friend me. I honestly believe that the people who are supposed to be following you, will follow, and those who are NOT supposed to be following you will not. It's that easy really. BUT I really want to challenge thinking here. I want to rethink my mom's old teaching... "The early bird..." 

I have really thought about this idea, and I have come to the conclusion that this paradigm has in-fact shifted. I think the saying should read this way now... 

"The early bird catches the worm, while the wise bird gains influence with the early bird and never goes hungry..." 

Early in my approach to Twitter ( http://twitter.com/vincenthunt ) I had something happen to me that fundamentally changed my thinking about Social Platforms... I was working on a project with a very dynamic team "Epic Change" on their "Tweetsgiving" campaign for that year. I was assigned with the task of designing the Tweetsgiving logo mark and add assistance to telling the brand story. Well, upon completion of this task, I told a Colleague of mine, Chris Brogan, about the project... Chris Brogan ( http://twitter.com/chrisbrogan ) is and was an Early Adopter of Twitter, and by this time had TONS of followers. I think at that time I had like 600 followers, or something, not sure. Well, Chris loved the logo mark, and he tweeted about it... Within a day, I had almost 1,000 followers from his one tweet... SO let's look at this...

Chris Brogan = Early Bird 

Vincent Hunt = Wise Bird 

FOR THE RECORD: Chris is HELLA wise, H E L L A wise... Find out here: http://chrisbrogan.com <-- BUT follow me on this... 

Chris Brogran had already built up a sweet following on Twitter, and I had not... He was early (Early Adopter), I was late (but Wise). I somehow gained some influence with Chris, and he in-turn, retweeted something I wanted retweeting about the tweetsgiving project. NOW at this time he had like 20k followers, FAR more than my 600... BUT in an essence, his voice became my voice for an instant...

So as HE had been "eating"... I ate too.... 

So without rattling on, I could give you many more examples, let's conclude with this idea.... 

"It's not how many people follow you, it's about what you are saying, WHO you are saying it to, and more importantly, do you have enough influence with them that they listen to what you are saying, AND do they trust you enough to repeat it?"

I could have 5 followers, and have the ear of 3 Influencers who have THOUSANDS of followers and still be effective... It's not how many followers, friends you have, it's the trust and value that you build that's important.

tom peters: top 10 to-do's

Design

A few years ago I received a book from a Colleague that absolutely changed my views about design. In-fact, it was this book that really pulled me from behind my computer and put me in the face of Designers, CEO's and Thought Leaders. It was this book that helped me understand that with (at this time) 13 years of design experience, a long list of happy clients, and awards to show-off, I was STILL a novice on a very big landscape. This book: "Design" - by Tom Peters, is what really started me on this journey of Design Thinking as a craft. It was not until MUCH later that Tim Brown of IDEO bought some strong foundation to the thing I had been operating in for about 4 years at this point. 

Today I want to share 10 nuggets out of this book, 10 "art of facts",  that you can chew in and perhaps get a better understanding of what the heck we are all supposed to be doing in the space of design... This list resonates with my soul. 

Thanks Tom. 

TOP 10 To-Do's 

1. Be a "Soul" supplier. At every point n your Design process, do a soul-check on what you are creating. In other words: Don't think "pretty". Think "profound". 

2. List your "loves". Get a little notebook, or open a file on your computer, and keep track of product and service offerings that earn your .... Enduring Ardor. 

3. Harness your "hates". While you are busy at #2, keep track of stuff that earn your ... Absolute Enmity. Think about the common attributes of the stuff on both sides of the ledger. 

4. If it feels good, dote on it. Cultivate a fingertip feel for Design-induced Emotional Attachment. Find a way to carry "it" around with you ... just as I carry around my turnbuckle!! 

5. Be of service. Foster a Design-driven approach to the way that you develop not just lumps of stuff... but also service offerings and business processes. (That means YOU, Finance Department Head) 

6. Hunt for bargains. Look inside your medicine cabinet, your toolbox, your kitchen cabinet, Learn from items therein that are low in cost and high in Design impact. 

7. Judge EVERYTHING by it's cover. Make every package worthy of it's product. Just because Design is not a surface thing (per se) doesn't mean that surfaces don't matter. 

8. Watch for signs. Monitor the signage all around you for examples of Soulful Direction and Woeful Misdirection. 

9. Be true to forms. Invest time, energy, and Design Know-How to the creation of all (ALL) business documents

10. Rage on. Get mad, and get even - with companies that offer shoddily designed stuff. Remember It's their fault, not yours. 

Tom-peters

Tom Peters